Hi friends! So I figured I would write a blog post about what I learned being on the receiving end of a pitch email, as a PR professional.
Every time I tell someone that I work in social media/PR the first thing I get asked is “What are some suggestions on scoring a brand deal?” So I thought I’d write a blog post on my top 5 tips! These tips are assuming that you have somewhat of a following, there is no minimum in follower count, and that you have a cohesive feed and niche! Your pictures must be high quality and great lighting 🙂 Let’s get started!
Here are my top 5 tips you must know before sending a pitch email:
1. Link your social media platforms.
I’m putting this first because I feel its one of the most important small details that people miss. I would say about 80% of the emails that I get, don’t have direct links to their social media platforms. Well, why is it important? It’s the bread and butter of why you are reaching out. You should make it as convenient as possible for PR professionals to see your social platform. Everything that we need should be a click away. Some bloggers don’t even send me the name of their handles. Then to email back and ask for them? An inconvenience for sure and unprofessional.
2. Keep it as short and precise as possible.
I will sometimes get emails that are super long and talk about all the companies they’ve worked with in the past, why they starting blogging, their transition to the blogging world, etc. All though some PR people may have time, some really don’t. I would suggest keeping it to one paragraph. Tell me your name, why you want to work with the company, your engagement and impressions and what you can bring to the table. Also, don’t forget a media kit but we’ll talk about that later 🙂 *Tip: Try actually buying their product and post about it so when you reach out, you can show them that you do love their brand and that your audience had great feedback!
3. Follow up once or twice, at most.
In my opinion, following up three/four times becomes a little annoying. I would follow up after one week, if that don’t respond. And then again one more week. If after the second follow up they don’t respond, you can assume they aren’t interested in working with you. Sometimes I respond and let them know that we aren’t interested at the time, but sometimes I don’t even have the time to write out the email and go on to the next task. Be mindful of who you are pitching to and just know, it’s no hard feelings. Companies do have budgets they work around and you might not be a fit for that month. Try again next month! Tip: Keep your follow up short: “Hi *insert name*, Hope you are having a wonderful week. I’d love to follow up and discuss a possible collaboration with *insert company name.* Please let me know at your earliest convenience.* Be sure to attach your media kit again when you’re following up.
4. Include visual aids.
Visual aids are always so helpful. Include some great photos of you and/or your media kit. Try to keep your media kit no longer than 2 pages. The first page should have all your stats. What’s your engagement rate? What are your impressions? How many followers do you have? Again, PR professionals don’t have time to read paragraphs on your media kit. We are looking for what makes you stand out from the crowd. Give us the best of the best, within 30 seconds or less. Bullet points! Give me your ROI (return on investment) and that will 100% make you look promising as an influencer for them.
5. Subject line is important.
Try to find out who the PR person is and use their name in the subject line. That always gets me to look at the email. With so many emails that I get a day, seeing my name makes me stop and open the email. Try to do more of that if you can! LinkedIn always helps but if you aren’t certain the name, keep the subject line no more than 5 words. Simple and efficient. Also, if there is a name on the email, you are already ahead of the game 🙂
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I hope I helped and brought some insight into what I learned and what works in a pitch email to a PR professional. I’ll also leave you with one more tip…network. Networking will land you brand deals that you wouldn’t have gotten if you didn’t go to that one event. You never know who knows someone. 🙂
Happy pitching!
xx